The charts below give information about USA marriage and divorce rates between 1970 and 2000, and the marital status of adult Americans in two of the years. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The charts compare

marriage

Use synonyms

and divorce figures in the United States between 1970 and 2000, alongside changes in adult marital status over the same period.

Overall

Linking Words

, the data indicate a gradual reduction in

marriage

Use synonyms

rates, a fluctuating trend in divorces, and notable shifts in the population’s marital status.

To begin

Linking Words

with, marriages decreased steadily from 2.5

million

Use synonyms

in 1970 to 2

million

Use synonyms

by 2000. Unlike

marriage

Use synonyms

rates, divorces rose from 1

million

Use synonyms

to a peak of 1.4

million

Use synonyms

in 1980,

then

Linking Words

slowly declined to the original level by 2000.

This

Linking Words

contrast suggests changing attitudes towards long-term relationships. Regarding marital status, there was a 10 percentage point drop in the proportion of married adults,

while

Linking Words

the share of people who had never married doubled from 15% to 20%. Separation

also

Linking Words

increased significantly, from nearly 3% to 9%. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who lost their spouses stayed relatively stable at around 7–8%. The tendency suggests a move away from

marriage

Use synonyms

, as more individuals remain single.